Arzouman, D. (2009, Oct 26). Why teach the arts? Art inspires learning.

The Christian Science Monitor, Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/405578622?accountid=10920 David Arzouman is an artist, composer, writer and educator who is developing a new art school in Tokyo. The main purpose of this text is to show the link between the arts and other more accepted academics such as science and math. The author reaches back through time to show how the arts are necessary even when the sciences and math are making leaps and bounds. He ends the text by citing that the art is that aha moment when the problem suddenly becomes clear by thinking outside the box. This work is different from the others in that is does not use current research but rather grounds the definition of art by tracing its use through science and math throughout history and current discoveries. This author uses art as the example of how the sciences and math are lacking traction without art, whether developers see it or not. Based on the authors intention of developing a new art school in Tokyo, it could be said the intended audience are anyone who is requiring an explanation of why. This text is chosen because of its ability to link the use of the arts across history through scientific and mathematical discoveries.

The Dana Foundation. (2008). Learning, arts, and the brain: The Dana Consortium report on arts and cognition. New York, NY: Gazzaniga, M. The Dana foundation is a private philanthropic organization with particular interests in brain science, immunology, and education. The foundation has also funds innovative professional development programs leading to increased and improved teaching of the performing arts. The main focus of the paper is to determine whether smart people are drawn to do art or if early training causes changes in the brain that enhance other important aspects of cognition. They are reporting their findings on how to define and evaluate the relationships

between the arts and the ability of the brain to learn in other domains. This is the only report I have found that links true neuroscience with cognition and the arts. The audiences for this text are individuals in the fields of education and neuroscience in order to promote an awareness of the connection between cognition and fine arts. The text is reader friendly and not overly heavy with difficult wording. This text is significant in that it ties the development and promotion of the fine arts through cognitive development; it grounds the arts within science.

Frato, K. (2004). The secret reason why I teach art. School Arts, 103(9), 10. Kevin Frato is an art education teacher who has been published in School Arts Magazine. This text is about a real world art teacher speaking from the heart about why he teachers art. He lists several examples of defining moments in his teacher career, which stick out in his mind. This source is different from others in the sense it is emotional and not analytical. He identifies problem students and how he is able to connect to them within the art room. The major focus of this text is the emotional connection he makes with his students along with how art has changed who he is as a person. I love this text because it speaks from the heart along with pointing out the positive changes the arts brings to not only students but also teachers in the field.

Kaelin, E.F. (1986). Why teach art in the Public Schools?. Journal of Aesthetic Education, 20(4), 64-71. Doi: 10.2307/3332602 In addition to being a professor and lecturer, E.F. Kaelin was also an American Philosopher who wrote several books and was celebrated in the Journal of Aesthetic Education.

The main scope of this article is to clearly define why the arts need to be taught in public education. The author believes that pursuing art for arts sake allows free function of the aesthetic institution within our society. This institution allows individuals to discover what is significant to them and to learn to appreciate it. Arts in public education help create a wider range of citizens. This text is much older when compared to the other texts and speaks in the language of DBAE. Even though DBAE is no longer the widely accepted method of art education, the author still makes good points on how the arts creates the whole individual. The author, being an American philosopher, speaks through his knowledge of philosophy and how art makes perfect sense when creating the ideal civic individual. The intended audience is other philosophers or art educators. I chose this text because of when it was written. I wanted to discover if the reasons for teaching art have changed very much in 30 years.

Katter, E. (2012). Why teach art? School Arts, 112(3), 14-15. Eldon Katter, in addition to being a former art teacher, is co-author of Explorations in Art (Davis Publications, 2005) and former editor of SchoolArts magazine. The purpose of this article is to list the reasons art teachers exists and briefly cover what the arts creates in students. The author also connects art education with the creation of a community of students with no social, cultural or ethnic walls, rather a group of students collaboratively investigating works of art and artifacts as important links to learning. This article is unlike any of the above in that it broadly speaks about the responsibilities of the art teacher and the role they play in the students academic life. It is geared more towards listing the scope of the units we plan and why we teach art to students. This author is biased towards the belief the arts are vital to the growth of students and creating engaging, authentic experiences. The text reads as a tally mark for what art

teachers daily duties are in the classroom. The intended audience for this work sounds as through it is for convincing anyone on the fence about the merits of art education that the arts are vital and necessary. This piece sums up my role as an art teacher in a positive and grounded way. It reminds me why I teach art and helps articulate why I teach it in a way that is easy for anyone to understand.

Mason, S.Y., & Connolly, M. (2009). Why education needs the arts. Principal Leadership, 10(3), 30-34. Sophie Yuen Mason was trained in the Shanghai Ballet School and danced with the Hong Kong Dance Company in addition to her being a teacher at the Saigon South International School in Vietnam. Mike Connolly was the principal of the Saigon South International School and is the author of What they never told me in principals school. This article focuses on the beneficial role building an arts program can have in areas of the world that experience hard times. The paper also speaks about how they connect the arts with hard academics in order to build not only intellectual experiences but also emotional ones. This work is unique in that the origination is not from the U.S. and underlines the argument for the positive position the arts plays in schools spans across the world. The authors of this text point out how building the arts in their school was not only beneficial but contributed to their enrollment growth, memorable performances, sense of community, teamwork, leadership skills, caring, sense of purpose and the mental, spiritual and physical wholeness the arts helped the students develop. The purpose of this text is to further promote the Saigon International School and its developing arts programs in order to develop a more global citizen. This work I found very interesting in that it addresses the issues of why teach art as a global issue and not only an U.S. concern.

National Endowment for the Arts. (2011). The arts and human development: Framing a national research agenda for the arts, lifelong learning, and individual well-being. Washington, DC: Hanna, G., Patterson, M., Rollins, J., & Sherman, A. Congress created the National Endowment for the Arts in 1965 in order to support artistic excellence, creativity, and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities. The Endowment hinges on the belief that the arts are central to human development. The main scope of this text is to present research and findings that link the arts with an impact on schoolreadiness of young children at risk, including children from low SES and minority background and improved academic and behavioral outcomes. The text also cites other benefits of an art education that include beneficial health, cognitive and social outcomes for older adults. The text is not one sided and reflects their concerns for the sampling group of individuals within the research and cites challenges. This text is interesting because it focuses on positive impact of the arts on developing the whole individual and uses research, even research from the above Dana Foundation, to support its beliefs. This texts purpose is building awareness at the national and federal level about the role of the arts. This text is used because of its research driven belief the arts promote the development of the whole individual being and that individual is vital to the growth of America.

Prescott, J. (2001). Why teach the arts? Instructor (1999), 110(5), 6. Jennifer Prescott writes as a veteran teacher who wants to assist others in understanding education. The purpose of this text is to challenge the reader to dispute why teach art. This text is very aggressive in the sense it condemns organized testing and the death of authentic learning

experiences in the classroom. This work is more argumentative than the ones above. The others are more matter of fact and this text is more to the point and combative. This author aggressively challenges others to find the merits of creating soulless test takers in contrast to fully engaging the learner in a range of communicative media. The intended audience for this work is other educators, not just in the field of art, but in other academic fields as well. I chose this text because of the aggressive nature of the author and her evident passion to challenge the consideration of the removal of the arts from schools.

Stuckey, H.L., & Nobel, J. (2010). The connection between art, healing, and public health: A review of current literature. Am J Public Health, 100(2), 254-263. Heather Stuckey is a member of the Department of Medicine at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Jeremy Nobel is a member of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston. The main purpose of this article is to show the ties of the arts to the creation of an individual who is in complete physical, mental and social well-being. They underline the effects either observing or interacting with the arts can have on ones moods, emotions and other psychological states. They further their claim by addressing the ties between chronic diseases and stress and depression while questioning how the arts can assist in removing these stressors and subsequently alleviating the disease. This work goes further than the others on the medical benefits the fine arts can have on the individual. The audiences for this text are the individuals who funded their research on this topic as well as use this research to establish foundations for further research and generate further interest in their research. I chose this text because of its promotion of the arts from the scientific standpoint rather than an emotional standpoint and how the arts promote healing.

Siegesmund, R. (1998). Why do we teach art today? Conceptions of art education and their justifications. Studies in Art Education, 39(3), 197-214. Doi: 10.2307/1320364 The author, Richard Siegesmund, in addition to serving four years on the Executive Board of the Georgia Art Education Association (GAEA) as well as advised the Georgia Department of Education on Performance Standards for the Visual Arts and content for the Georgia art education teacher certification examination, he currently serves as the representative for Theoretical/Philosophical Research on the Higher Education Research Steering Committee of the National Art Education Association (NAEA) and is a professor at Stanford University of Qualitative Reasoning, Assessment, Art-Based Inquiry, and Aesthetic Theory. This text traces the origin of art education and the original reasons for its incorporation into the education system. The author cites that these reasons are no longer viable and art teachers are still searching for the concrete footing in which to answer the question of: why teach art? Individual experience, cultural awareness and visual sensitivity are three questions the author asks in response to the main question. This work is similar to all the others in that its core is focused on answering: why teach art? The author holds concerns for the future of the field because it does not have a concrete claim on why to teach art. The author poses that unless art education spells out a body of knowledge worth learning, the field will be forever marginalized. The intended audience for this text is all art educators and art awareness programs seeking to further the stronghold of art education within schools. I chose this text because of its readability and clear definitions of why to teach art.